Germany Tour

The more precise you can be with your information, the better responses you will get. "the Midwest" is a pretty vague description for seeking help on flights.

I went to the Icelandair site and put in a multi-city flight that went Chicago-Hamburg mid may and then returned Berlin-Chicago 2 weeks later. I didn't go with lowest price class, but priced at standard economy where your checked bag is included. The cost was $952.11

You could drive to Chicago, even spend the night in the hotel and still come out saving significant money from the price you quoted.

Iceland Air has an efficient connection in Iceland. I've flown them twice and been pleased both times.

Also in Berlin you can address two airports: TXL and SXF.

Try also to move date of flight, e.g. in Hamburg is port anniversary May 8-10. Always full and busy.

If it helps Hanover HAJ is not really far from Berlin and Hamburg (max. 2 hrs. by train).

I'm in Cincinnati with the only direct flight to Europe is with Delta through Paris. Im willing to travel to another airport. I'm also considering going in September. Not sure if the flights would br cheaper, or if the weather would be less rainy/ warm in September vs May. My last trip to Munich was cold and rainy in July, though this year there was a heatwave.

Judy, dont just compare the initial cost of the airfare without adding in the cost of additional transportation (train or plane) to get to where you really need to be. But also consider the extra time it costs to do that, which detracts from your vacation time.

You are looking at multi-city aka open jaw fares, not two oneway tickets, right?

We took this tour two years ago. We flew round trip into to Berlin and arrived a few days early and did a side trip to Potsdam and visited a couple museums (wanted to see Nefertiti). Then we took an easy 2 hour (or so) train to Hamburg to start the tour. We stayed an additional day in Berlin after the tour to go to the Check Point Charlie museum and Berlin Wall museum. It was significantly cheaper round trip than multi-city for us out of Atlanta. I don't remember the cost of the train tickets but it wasn't too much.

Hi Judy,
I stopped reading what others here on the forum are paying for flights. I live south of Akron. Even people on the west coast are paying less. At first I was really aggravated, but now I console myself with the fact that our cost of living is so much less, that it makes up for the more expensive flights.
I am flying Akron-Istanbul (through Chicago) tomorrow. The one time it is cheaper not to drive up to Cleveland. The cost was $1300. The cost from Chicago to Istanbul was only $800. If I drove to Chicago and paid for 3 weeks of parking, or rented a car both ways, the savings wouldn't make up for the 6 hour drive.
Good luck with your flight searches.

We have flown Iceland Air into Hamburg and out of Berlin. I think the airline does a good job. We flew out of Washington DC, (Dulles). It was about a 6 hour drive from our home in NC, but well worth it for the savings in airfare even considering the night in the Hilton when we got back. They even kept our car for us! Another possibility could be a cheapo flight to NYC in the am of departure day. Iceland Air flights out of NYC are very reasonable.

Consider a round-trip ticket to a major market like Berlin or Frankfurt instead (even if you have to take a train to Hamburg, it will likely still be cheaper). Also, you're looking very early out...there is plenty of time to track fares over several months to see if you can do better than $1,750 (which is quite awful - I would hold out for something way better). September fares may very well be better than May, but it's too early to know.

We often fly to-from London and spend some time there (Paris would work too). Then we use a European airline to pop into/out-of Europe (e.g., EasyJet, British Air, Ryan)… which are inexpensive. Sometimes you can cobble together a good deal. Still, if you are traveling in high season, I wouldn't be surprised to pay $1200 and up.